Carbon materials with interconnected pores

Abstract

Methods of forming an electrically-conductive mesoporous carbon structure with interconnected pores or highly interconnected pores, and the resulting structures are described. The structure is formed by providing a mesoporous template, filling the mesopores with an organic precursor, polymerizing the organic precursor, pyrolyzing the polymerized organic precursor, and etching away the template.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A film with a porous carbon structure, comprising:
 an electrically-conductive porous carbon structure with interconnected pores; 
 wherein said carbon structure is formed in a mesoporous template film with cubic mesostructural ordering having a plurality of mesopores by filling the pores with an organic precursor, polymerizing the organic precursor, pyrolyzing the polymerized organic precursor to produce electrically-conductive carbon, selectively removing the template film to yield said electrically-conductive porous carbon structure with interconnected pores; and 
 wherein at least 50% of the pores are interconnected to at least one other pore within the carbon structure. 
 
     
     
       2. A film as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said mesoporous template film comprises a material selected from the group consisting of silica, titania, alumina, oxides, organosiloxanes, nitrides, phosphides, carbides, chalcogenides, organometallic compounds, metals, or mixtures thereof. 
     
     
       3. A film as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said organic precursor is selected from the group consisting of sucrose, phenolic resin, resorcinol, naphthalene, furfuryl alcohol, or aromatic-containing organic precursors. 
     
     
       4. A film as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said porous template film comprises a mesoporous film with body-centered-cubic Im  3  m ordering. 
     
     
       5. A film as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said porous template film is prepared by spin-coating, dip-coating, or casting a structure-directing organic species in the presence of a network-forming inorganic species, followed by removal of said structure-directing organic species. 
     
     
       6. A film as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said electrically-conductive mesoporous structure comprises a mesoporous film. 
     
     
       7. A film as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said porous carbon structure has a surface area greater than approximately 100 m 2 /g. 
     
     
       8. A film as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said porous carbon structure has an electrical conductivity greater than approximately 5 S/cm. 
     
     
       9. A film as recited in  claim 1 , wherein said interconnected pores are highly interconnected with greater than 90% of the pores interconnected to at least one other pore.